While the franchisor-franchisee relationship is, out of necessity, governed by a detailed legal agreement, it is far more important to deal with operational issues that arise by discussion and negotiation rather than getting lawyers involved.

It helps to have, or develop, a culture which is co-operative rather than dictatorial. In its home market, a business may choose to have individual franchisees operating one or more separate outlets.

Internationally it is more common to give the franchisee responsibility for developing a whole country, or at least a region of it, either by opening and operating a number of branches or sub-franchising to others.

There is no generic “right way” to franchise, but experienced consultants can help to assess whether there is a right way for a particular business, whatever its current size.

In all cases, it is necessary to have a very clear profile of the individual, or indeed company, which will make the best partner to work with and the selection criteria must be rigorously adhered to.

Franchise Operations Manual 

Operation standards for business systems throughout the network are clearly laid down in a step-by-step Franchise Operations Manual, which is used both as a training tool and a reference document during site visits, review meetings or even disputes.

Everything that has to be done, by whom, to whom, how well and how often, is detailed in the manual and the franchisor can make amendments and adaptations when necessary. Many franchisors also now put their manual online, secured by password protections.

It’s a well know fact that franchising will not bring success to every business. Careful and in-depth evaluation must be conducted to weigh up the pros and the cons.

Having concluded that franchising is the route to follow, it is important to evaluate the proposed business plan to get a preliminary insight into the chances of success.

This can be done by evaluating objectives against criteria, such as whether the business is a proven, easily replicated, profitable and learnable business format, thus understanding the motivation, and how the proposal fits with the overall long-term business strategy.

Brian Duckett is managing director of Howarth Franchising.

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